Filing cabinet construction

ABSTRACT

A filing cabinet is provided with pivotable and slidable doors which may be retracted within the cabinet to provide access to the roll-out file drawers. The doors comprise sheet metal envelopes closed at the ends by unitary plastic end caps which each include a handle depression, a locking tab, and a stop tab for locating the doors in the closed and retracted positions. The door front surface is substantially entirely planar and includes an internal rigidifying structural member so that in a partially retracted position, the door may be utilized as a posting shelf. The cabinet further includes means for indicating the partially retracted position of the door.

United States Patent Schnarr 1 Nov. 21, 1972 [54] FILING CABINETCONSTRUCTION 3,133,768 5/1964 Klakovich ..312/323 72 I t 2 H d A. s h wt l O Barstow 1 fi gf'g j 3 er 1,408,938 3/1922 Hall ..312/203 [73]Assignee: Massey-Ferguson Industries Limited, primary Examiner gobby GayQanada v Assistant Examiner-Garry Moore [22] Filed; No 13, 1969Attorney-Gerhardt, Greenlee & Farris [21] App]. No.: 876,517 [57ABSTRACT I A filing cabinet is provided with pivotable and slidable [52]US. Cl ..312/307 doors which may be retracted within the cabinet to [51]hit-l Cl. ..A47b 88/00 provide access to the rolbout fi drawers Thedoors [58] d of Search 312/307 5 6 comprise sheet metal envelopes closedat the ends by 31 l 1 unitary plastic end caps which each include ahandle depression, a locking tab, and a stop tab for locating [56]References cued the doors in the closed and retracted positions. TheUNITED STATES PATENTS door front surface is substantially entirelyplanar and includes an internal rigidifying structural member so 702,3486/1902 Forster ..312/109 that in a partially retracted position, thedoor may be 1,407,948 2/1922 Rand "312/323 utilized as a posting shelf.The cabinet further includes gggot etnal means for indicating thepartially retracted position of erse th d 2,630,364 3/1953 Gleason..312/323 6 2,936,206 5/1960 Wilmer et a1. ..312/322 3 Claims, 9 DrawingFigures 2 1 lll ul 2 18 A :jlz

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Pmmtnunv u I 3.703325 SHEETBUFB SO /AME? FILING CABINET CONSTRUCTIONThis invention relates generally to filing cabinets and moreparticularly to a door construction therefor.

Conventional stacked filing cabinets, such as a fivehigh unit, normallyinclude a separate posting shelf which may be withdrawn from the cabinetfor use. These cabinets further normally include doors that areflexible, have exterior handles and are provided with a plurality ofstops to locate the doors in the various positions. Such filing cabinetdoors normally slide on the metal door edge or are provided withseparate bearing means. Such constructions are characterized by manyseparate parts which must be welded or mechanically joined together andcan easily get out of alignment.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a filing cabinetdoor construction which eliminates the need for a separate postingshelf, has a reduced number of parts to facilitate assembly, and isstructurally more rigid than previous constructions.

In accordance with this invention, a filing cabinet having an opening isprovided with a trailer bar, Cooperating guide means on the trailer barand the cabinet enabling sliding movement of the trailer bar within thecabinet between extended and retracted positions toward and away fromthe opening, a door pivoted to the trailer bar for movement between aclosed position closing the opening and an open position extendingperpendicularly from the cabinet, and guide means on the door andcooperable with the cabinet guide means to enable movement of the doorbetween the open position and the stored position within the cabinet asthe carriers move between the extended and retracted positions and ischaracterized in that the door and the door and cabinet guide means havesufficient structural rigidity to enable movement of the door to aposition intermediate the open and stored positions in which the doorextends partially outwardly of the cabinet for use as a posting shelf.

This invention further features means for indicating the location of thedoor in the intermediate position. A yet further feature is that thedoor comprises a sheet metal envelope having plastic end caps whichinclude locking and stop tabs and the guide means for the door.

These and further objects and features of this invention will becomemore readily apparent upon reference to the following detaileddescription of the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet embodying a doorconstruction according to this inven tion;

FIG. 2 is a exploded cut-away perspective view of a door and trailer baraccording to this invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken generally along lines3-3 of FIG. 1 showing details of construction;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken generally along lines44 of FIG. 3 showing details of the indicator;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken generally along lines 5-5 ofFIG. 4 showing further details of the indicator;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken generally along lines6-6 of FIG. 3 showing details of the trailer bar stop;

FIG. 7 is a partially broken away detail view of the lock mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 9-9 of FIG. 3showing the door stop tab.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a filing cabinet 10 is formedof a sheet metal cabinet having a front opening 12 and includes aplurality of conventionally mounted sliding file drawers or trays 14which are movable outwardly of the cabinet for access thereto. Each ofthe trays 14 is provided with a covering door 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24which may be selectively moved to a closed position, illustrated bydoors 16, 20,

24,to close the opening 12 or may be opened, as illustrated by door 22,and moved to a retracted position, illustrated by door 18, to provideaccess to the trays 14.

Since the construction of all doors is identical, the construction ofdoor 18 will be detailed, with reference to FIG. 2. The door 18comprises a continuous sheet metal envelope including a front wall 26, arear wall 28, and connecting top and bottom walls 30 and 32,respectively. The continuous sheet of metal is bonded together at 34 byspot welding on the rear wall 28 to conceal the seam. The front wall 26of the door is substantially entirely planar except for an indicia means36 at the upper right hand comer. The rear wall 28 further includes alateral depression 38 adjacent the bottom wall 32 for use as a handle.

Interiorly of the door 18 a hat-shaped structural member 40 is bonded tothe insides of front and rear walls 26, 28 and extends laterally of thedoor to rigidify the door. The sheet metal envelope defines an opening42 at each end, the openings receiving unitary plastic end caps 44 whichare bonded therein. Each of the plastic end caps 44 forms the doorsliding guides and includes an elongated depression 46 for use as ahandle, a stop tab 48 which will be later described, and a locking tab50 which will be later described. At its upper end, each of the end caps44 includes a hole 52 which receives a pivot pin 54 formed integrally ona plastic guide member 56. The plastic guide members 56 are attached tothe ends of an elongated U-shaped trailer bar 58 so that the pins 54 andholes 52 pivotally mount the door 18 on the trailer bar 58.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the operation of the doors will now beexplained. The trailer bar guides 56 are received at either side of thecabinet within elongated guide channels 60 mounted on the cabinet. Theirmovement may be controlled by a cable control system, including trailerbar rollers 62, which forms no part of this invention and will not befurther described. The door may be swung from the vertical closedposition, shown by door 20, about pins 54 up to a horizontal positionshown by door 22, by grasping depressions 46. The door can then bepushed back within the cabinet, whereupon the end caps 44 enter theguide channels 60 and function as door guides. The door is then shovedall the way back into the cabinet to the fully retracted position, shownby door 18. Movement to this position is controlled by the integral stoptabs 48 which extend laterally beyond the opening 12 and thus engage theedge of the cabinet 10, as shown in FIG. 9. To close the door,depression 38 is grasped and the door is withdrawn from the cabinetuntil an angled stop member or finger 64 depending from the trailer bar58 engages a stop member 66 mounted on the channel 60, FIG. 6. Thisdisengages end caps 44 from channels 60 and the door is then pivotedabout pins 54 to the closed position, shown by door 20.

The tabs 48, as noted earlier, have a dual function. In the door closedposition, door in FIG. 3, the tabs 48 are gravity-biased into engagementwith the edge of the cabinet to position the door in the closedposition. The shape and location of the structural member 40 within thedoor is such that the center of gravity C.G. of the door is located justoutwardly of a plane extending vertically beneath the pivot 52, 54 ofthe door to provide the gravity bias to hold the door closed.

As noted earlier, a door may be used as a posting shelf. When a door hasbeen retracted within the cabinet a sufficient distance so that the endcaps 44 have sufficient contact with channel members 60 to support thedoor, the reinforced door may be utilized as a posting shelf or writingsurface, as shown by door 22 in FIGS. 1 and 3. In this position theindicia means 36 is retracted within the cabinet and only a planarsurface is exposed. To indicate that the door 22 has reached thisposition, the stop member 64 on trailer bar 58 engages a bent springmetal detent clip 70, riveted at '72 to the cabinet inner wall, to causeincreased resistance to further movement of the door 22 within thecabinet. This provides a physical indication that the door has beenmoved to a position for use as a posting shelf. Upon further movement ofthe door, stop member 64 will cam the clip 70 out of the path of traveland permit movement of the door to the fully retracted 7 position, asindicated by the door 18 in FIG. 3. Upon subsequent movement of the dooroutwardly, the stop member 64 strikes the back side of the clip 70 andcams it out of the way to permit the complete withdrawal of the dooroutside the cabinet for subsequent movement to the closed position,indicated by door 20 in FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, the means for locking the doors will nowbe described. The upper right hand corner of the cabinet mounts a lockcylinder 74 which is operable to reciprocate an elongated lock bar 76which mounts at spaced intervals along its length locking pins 78. Inthe closed position of the door shownin FIG. 8, the locking tab 50 ofend cap 44 extends inwardly of the cabinet so that a recess 80 thereinis located immediately above the lock pin 78. Upon rotation of cylinder74 the bar 76 is reciprocated upwardly so that the pin 78 enters thenotch 80 to secure the door in its closed position.

Thus the end caps 44 have manifold functions. These unitary piecesinclude pivot holes 52 for pivoting the door to trailer bar 58, a fingergrip depression 46, a dual purpose stop tab 48, and a locking tab 50,and also form an end closure for the sheet metal envelope and serve asguides for sliding the doors on channels 60. The structure of the dooris sufficiently rigid to enable additional use as a posting shelf. Inconjunction therewith, the finger 64 and the detent clip 70 providemeans for indicating that the door has attained a position sufficient tosupport itself for use as a posting shelf. Further, the construction ofthe door is such that the center of gravity lies outwardly of the doorpivot to maintain a gravity biased engagement of the stop tab with thecabinet to maintain the door in closed position.

It is thus readily apparent that the door construction of this inventionprovides many improvements in filing cabinet construction and features areduced number of assembly parts, structural rigidity, and eliminationof a separate posting shelf.

I claim:

1. A filing cabinet having an opening, a trailer bar, a cooperatingguide means on the trailer bar and the cabinet enabling sliding movementof the trailer bar within the cabinet between horizontal extended andretracted positions toward and away from the opening, a door pivoted tothe trailer bar for vertical movement between a vertical closed positionclosing the opening and horizontal open position extendingperpendicularly from the cabinet; said door having a center of gravityat a point intermediate its ends and outwardly of the pivot point tocause said door to swing into and normally remain in closed position bygravity; guide means on the door and cooperable with the cabinet guidemeans to enable movement of the door between the horizontal openposition and a stored position within the cabinet as the trailer bar ismoved between the extended and retracted positions, characterized inthat the door and the door and cabinet guide means enable movement ofthe door to a position intermediate the open and stored positions inwhich the door extends horizontally partially outwardly of the cabinetfor use as a supporting shelf, cooperating detent means on said door andcabinet for physically indicating said intermediate partial retractedposition of said door, said detent means comprising a finger member anda resilient detent member, one of said members being mounted forresilient engagement with said finger on the other of said members uponmovement of said door to a posi tion intermediate its open horizontalposition and its stored position to provide flexible resistance tofurther movement of said door into completely stored position to therebyindicate that said door is in a horizontal shelf position; saidresilient detent member being movable out of engagement with said fingermember upon further movement of said door towards said stored positionpast the intermediate shelf position, said door including spaced frontand rear walls and an interior structural member extending laterally ofthe door between the walls to provide structural rigidity, the frontwall having a substantially planar portion forming an upper shelfsurface in the intermediate position, the rear wall of said doorincluding a lateral depression near the door outer end to provide a handgrip for facilitating movement of the door from stored to open position,the door being formed of a continuous piece of sheet metal open atopposite ends and the door guide means comprising end caps closing theopen ends, the end caps including elongated depressions providing handgrips to enable movement of the door from closed to open positions, eachend cap including an integral locking tab cooperable with a movable lockbar mounted on the cabinet to selectively lock the door in closedposition.

2. A filing cabinet having an opening, a trailer bar, a cooperatingguide means on the trailer bar and the cabinet enabling sliding movementof the trailer bar within the cabinet between horizontal extended andretracted positions toward and away from the opening, a door pivoted tothe trailer bar for vertical movement between a vertical closed positionclosing the opening and horizontal open position extendingperpendicularly from the cabinet; said door having a center of gravityat a point intermediate its ends and outwardly of the pivot point tocause said door to swing into and normally remain in closed position bygravity; guide means on the door and cooperable with the cabinet guidemeans to enable movement of the door between the horizontal openposition and a stored position within the cabinet as the trailer bar ismoved between the extended and retracted positions, characterized inthat the door and the door and cabinet guide means enable movement ofthe door to a position intermediate the open and stored positions inwhich the door extends horizontally partially outwardly of the cabinetfor use as a supporting shelf, cooperating detent means on said door andcabinet for physically indicating partial retracted position of saiddoor, said detent means comprising a finger member and a resilientdetent member, one of said members being mounted for resilientengagement with said finger on the other of said members upon movementof said door to a position intermediate its open horizontal position andits stored position to provide flexible resistance to further movementof said door into completely stored position to thereby indicate thatsaid door is in a horizontal shelf position; said resilient detentmember being movable out of engagement with said finger member uponfurther movement of said door towards said stored position past theintermediate shelf position, the door including spaced front and rearwalls and an interior structural member extending laterally of the doorbetween the walls to provide structural rigidity, the front wall havinga substantially planar portion forming an upper shelf surface in theintermediate position, said walls being formed of sheet metalinterconnected by top and bottom walls and defining end openings, thedoor including end caps closing the openings, each end cap including anintegral stop tab extending laterally beyond the cabinet opening andengageable with a cabinet exterior surface for locating the door in theclosed position, and the internal structural member is positioned withinthe door to locate the doors center of gravity in closed positionoutwardly of a plane extending vertically beneath the pivot axis toprovide a gravity bias maintaining engagement of the stop tabs with thecabinet surface.

3. The filing cabinet of claim 2, wherein each stop tab engages anexterior cabinet surface to locate the door in the stored position.

1. A filing cabinet having an opening, a trailer bar, a cooperatingguide means on the trailer bar and the cabinet enabling sliding movementof the trailer bar within the cabinet between horizontal extended andretracted positions toward and away from the opening, a door pivoted tothe traiLer bar for vertical movement between a vertical closed positionclosing the opening and horizontal open position extendingperpendicularly from the cabinet; said door having a center of gravityat a point intermediate its ends and outwardly of the pivot point tocause said door to swing into and normally remain in closed position bygravity; guide means on the door and cooperable with the cabinet guidemeans to enable movement of the door between the horizontal openposition and a stored position within the cabinet as the trailer bar ismoved between the extended and retracted positions, characterized inthat the door and the door and cabinet guide means enable movement ofthe door to a position intermediate the open and stored positions inwhich the door extends horizontally partially outwardly of the cabinetfor use as a supporting shelf, cooperating detent means on said door andcabinet for physically indicating said intermediate partial retractedposition of said door, said detent means comprising a finger member anda resilient detent member, one of said members being mounted forresilient engagement with said finger on the other of said members uponmovement of said door to a position intermediate its open horizontalposition and its stored position to provide flexible resistance tofurther movement of said door into completely stored position to therebyindicate that said door is in a horizontal shelf position; saidresilient detent member being movable out of engagement with said fingermember upon further movement of said door towards said stored positionpast the intermediate shelf position, said door including spaced frontand rear walls and an interior structural member extending laterally ofthe door between the walls to provide structural rigidity, the frontwall having a substantially planar portion forming an upper shelfsurface in the intermediate position, the rear wall of said doorincluding a lateral depression near the door outer end to provide a handgrip for facilitating movement of the door from stored to open position,the door being formed of a continuous piece of sheet metal open atopposite ends and the door guide means comprising end caps closing theopen ends, the end caps including elongated depressions providing handgrips to enable movement of the door from closed to open positions, eachend cap including an integral locking tab cooperable with a movable lockbar mounted on the cabinet to selectively lock the door in closedposition.
 1. A filing cabinet having an opening, a trailer bar, acooperating guide means on the trailer bar and the cabinet enablingsliding movement of the trailer bar within the cabinet betweenhorizontal extended and retracted positions toward and away from theopening, a door pivoted to the traiLer bar for vertical movement betweena vertical closed position closing the opening and horizontal openposition extending perpendicularly from the cabinet; said door having acenter of gravity at a point intermediate its ends and outwardly of thepivot point to cause said door to swing into and normally remain inclosed position by gravity; guide means on the door and cooperable withthe cabinet guide means to enable movement of the door between thehorizontal open position and a stored position within the cabinet as thetrailer bar is moved between the extended and retracted positions,characterized in that the door and the door and cabinet guide meansenable movement of the door to a position intermediate the open andstored positions in which the door extends horizontally partiallyoutwardly of the cabinet for use as a supporting shelf, cooperatingdetent means on said door and cabinet for physically indicating saidintermediate partial retracted position of said door, said detent meanscomprising a finger member and a resilient detent member, one of saidmembers being mounted for resilient engagement with said finger on theother of said members upon movement of said door to a positionintermediate its open horizontal position and its stored position toprovide flexible resistance to further movement of said door intocompletely stored position to thereby indicate that said door is in ahorizontal shelf position; said resilient detent member being movableout of engagement with said finger member upon further movement of saiddoor towards said stored position past the intermediate shelf position,said door including spaced front and rear walls and an interiorstructural member extending laterally of the door between the walls toprovide structural rigidity, the front wall having a substantiallyplanar portion forming an upper shelf surface in the intermediateposition, the rear wall of said door including a lateral depression nearthe door outer end to provide a hand grip for facilitating movement ofthe door from stored to open position, the door being formed of acontinuous piece of sheet metal open at opposite ends and the door guidemeans comprising end caps closing the open ends, the end caps includingelongated depressions providing hand grips to enable movement of thedoor from closed to open positions, each end cap including an integrallocking tab cooperable with a movable lock bar mounted on the cabinet toselectively lock the door in closed position.
 2. A filing cabinet havingan opening, a trailer bar, a cooperating guide means on the trailer barand the cabinet enabling sliding movement of the trailer bar within thecabinet between horizontal extended and retracted positions toward andaway from the opening, a door pivoted to the trailer bar for verticalmovement between a vertical closed position closing the opening andhorizontal open position extending perpendicularly from the cabinet;said door having a center of gravity at a point intermediate its endsand outwardly of the pivot point to cause said door to swing into andnormally remain in closed position by gravity; guide means on the doorand cooperable with the cabinet guide means to enable movement of thedoor between the horizontal open position and a stored position withinthe cabinet as the trailer bar is moved between the extended andretracted positions, characterized in that the door and the door andcabinet guide means enable movement of the door to a positionintermediate the open and stored positions in which the door extendshorizontally partially outwardly of the cabinet for use as a supportingshelf, cooperating detent means on said door and cabinet for physicallyindicating partial retracted position of said door, said detent meanscomprising a finger member and a resilient detent member, one of saidmembers being mounted for resilient engagement with said finger on theother of said members upon movement of said door to a positionintermediate its open horizontal position and its stored pOsition toprovide flexible resistance to further movement of said door intocompletely stored position to thereby indicate that said door is in ahorizontal shelf position; said resilient detent member being movableout of engagement with said finger member upon further movement of saiddoor towards said stored position past the intermediate shelf position,the door including spaced front and rear walls and an interiorstructural member extending laterally of the door between the walls toprovide structural rigidity, the front wall having a substantiallyplanar portion forming an upper shelf surface in the intermediateposition, said walls being formed of sheet metal interconnected by topand bottom walls and defining end openings, the door including end capsclosing the openings, each end cap including an integral stop tabextending laterally beyond the cabinet opening and engageable with acabinet exterior surface for locating the door in the closed position,and the internal structural member is positioned within the door tolocate the door''s center of gravity in closed position outwardly of aplane extending vertically beneath the pivot axis to provide a gravitybias maintaining engagement of the stop tabs with the cabinet surface.